Access terminals, such as laptop computers, personal digital assistant devices, mobile or cellular phones, or any other device with a processor, that communicate with other devices through wireless signals are becoming increasingly popular. Access terminals are typically battery-powered and the amount of power a battery can provide is limited. With consumers using powerful applications that run on the access terminals, particularly entertainment media and imaging applications, conserving battery power is important.
A conventional access terminal often includes a baseband processor that may perform several functions, including processing signals to and/or from one or more communication interfaces. Such baseband processor tends to be integrally involved in the operation of the access terminal, thereby making it difficult to turn it Off completely. For instance, an access terminal may operate in one of several modes depending on the communication standard being implemented in a wireless network. For example, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) includes various types of “connected” modes (e.g., Radio Resource Control states—Cell Dedicated Channel (CELL_DCH) state, a “quasi-connected” mode such as Cell Forward Access Channel FACH (CELL_FACH) state, Cell Paging Channel (CELL_PCH) state, and UTRAN (UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) Registration Area URA Paging Channel (URA_PCH) state, and a “lowered power” mode such as Idle mode). Typically, in the connected mode the baseband processor (and/or other circuits and components of a receiver/transmitter chain) may be fully or partially turned On to allow the access terminal to receive and/or transmit data (e.g., voice or data calls or sessions) with one or more access nodes (e.g., base stations, Node B, femto cell, etc.). In connected mode, conventional a baseband processor may consume a significant amount of power along with the circuitry (e.g., receiver/transmitter chain) needed to monitor a data or control channel and/or maintain a connection with the access node. In Idle state, the access terminal may monitor a paging channel, such as a paging channel (PCH) for paging messages. While power consumption in idle mode is substantially less than in connected mode, the baseband processor is still fully or partially turned On to facilitate monitoring of the control channel. Consequently, the access terminal is still being drained of significant power by the baseband processor and other circuitry or components of its receiver/transmitter chain.
Therefore, there is a need for a solution that reduces power consumption of an access terminal.